Ad Index
Company
Pg
ADAM HALL...............................18 AMAHI UKULELES...................45 AUDIX CORPORATION......... C-III BOURNS PRO AUDIO................61 CE DISTRIBUTION....................47 CHAUVET LIGHTING................12 CHAUVET LIGHTING................13 CHEM-PAK..................................59 FENDER.......................................9 FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS.......27 GALAXY AUDIO........................5 GRAPH TECH..............................39 HOSHINO.....................................25 IK MULTIMEDIA........................23 JMAZ............................................60 JOHN PACKER............................28 KYSER MUSICAL PRODUCTS.....32 LYON & HEALY..........................53 MALONEY STAGEGEAR COVERS....................................43 MANHASSET SPECIALTY COMPANY................................8 NAMM.....................................16-17 NEUMANN..................................7 NEW SENSOR.............................31 ODYSSEY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS...................................55 PEAVEY....................................C-II PETERSON ELECTRO-MUSICAL PRODUCTS...............................30 PRO X...........................................33 PRS GUITARS.............................19 QRS MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES....42 QSC...............................................21 SHE ROCKS AWARDS...............61 TASCAM......................................29 TECH 21.......................................37 VOCOPRO....................................15 WD MUSIC PRODUCTS............10 WIREWORLD..............................51 YORKVILLE.............................C-IV While every care is taken to ensure that these listings are accurate and complete, The Music & Sound Retailer does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors.
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GLOBAL CROSSROADS
THE NAMM SHOW GETS SET TO ONCE AGAIN TAKE ANAHEIM BY STORM BY BRIAN BERK
2020 is nearly here, and after the holidays will, of course, come the “granddaddy of them all”: The NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif., taking place from Jan. 16 to 19 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Despite putting on one of the premier trade shows on the planet, NAMM is always trying to improve the show, just like MI retailers constantly need to think of new ways to improve their stores. Next month’s new addition to The NAMM Show is the Retail Financial Summit, which will provide the critical financial training all music retailers need to thrive in today’s competitive marketplace, while looking at new trends and developments that are certain to impact your business. Presented by industry financial experts Alan Friedman and Daniel Jobe of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co., the pair will address new financial trends and regulatory updates and highlight recent changes in sales tax and labor laws that are impacting you and your business. Plus, they’ll address specific audience questions, intended to allow MI retailers to walk away with a clear picture of how to take control of their store’s financial health. This program will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to Joe Lamond, president and CEO at NAMM, there are three reasons MI retailers attend The NAMM Show: new products, education and networking/seeing friends/events. “Education can change your life,” he told the Music & Sound Retailer regarding The NAMM Show’s educational offerings. “It is broken down into so many segments. Think about it as a large university campus. You have individual tracks within this whole university campus — NAMM University, breakfast sessions and the all-day sessions before the show might be [considered] the school of business.” Specifically regarding why NAMM added the financial summit, Lamond said MI retailers often want to take more control of their finances. “Maybe [MI retailers] didn’t get an accounting degree before they opened their businesses,” Lamond stated. “Alan Friedman and Daniel Jobe have seen so much in this industry. They will show in this session exactly how to set up your business. It’s a whole-semester course in one day. And it’s all free. [The only thing to consider is] can you set the time aside and be there? If you can, I think it will definitely change the trajectory of your store.” Lamond channeled what MI retailers interested in the financial summit may be thinking: “I need to absolutely understand where my money is going and where I am making my profits so I can manage
my business better.” He stressed that, while retailers will have a lot to learn from the seven-hour event, they are not the only ones who stand to benefit from attending. “Everyone that has run a business has an interest in improving their skills in finance,” noted Lamond. “The event is designed for dealers, but I can see other elements of the industry being interested as well.” The Retail Innovation Summit, which took place the day before the 2019 NAMM Show commenced, will also return. At this event, best-selling author and sales and marketing expert Marcus Sheridan, previous host of two NAMM U Breakfast Sessions, will walk attendees through the changing behavior of consumers and strategies to deliver what consumers are looking for. At this summit, attendees will discover how the shift in buying will influence sales and marketing in the retail music business going forward and what types of content and messaging do and don’t move the revenue needle. He’ll also reveal how to integrate video effectively into your sales and marketing efforts, and how you can set up an in-house media company at your own business to increase traffic, both online and in-store. Just before The NAMM Show officially opens on Jan. 16 at 8:30 a.m., the “Breakfast of Champions,” long a favorite of NAMM attendees, will return. Lamond will again moderate the event. “Crossroads” will be a major theme of this session. “I think the industry is at a crossroads,” Lamond said. “I think NAMM is at a crossroads. Most importantly, we want to be the crossroads. We want to be the place, throughout 128 countries, so that everyone involved in music and sound technology will be at NAMM the third week in January.” According to Lamond, NAMM wanted the current state of retail to be reflected in The NAMM Show’s programming. “We thought about the industry’s position right now,” he said. “In all retail, not just MI, a good dealer is someone who has customers who continue to love them. They love the inventory, staff, training and everything else about them. They are loyal shoppers of that store. Then, there are people who shop at a retailer because they have no other choice based on product availability or geography. The internet has changed that equation. Those who used to be shopping at a store because they had no choice have plenty of options now. So, in many cases, these customers have left those stores and gone other places. The sales still happen. They just went somewhere else. That left stores with fewer customers, and they have to think about how they will gain customers, keep customers they have and then find ways to replace revenue they lost DECEMBER 2019